Windsor dominates home swimming invite to cap busy four days

WINDSOR — Just three days removed from the biggest early season meet of the winter, junior Rilea Driscoll and her teammates on the Windsor girls swimming and diving team admitted to being a tad bit tired when they stepped into the pool Tuesday.

But by the end of the meet, it was the other seven teams in Windsor's Holiday Spectacular meet that were probably a bit tired of the Wizards.

Windsor was the ultimate nuisance to the rest of the field, claiming first-place finishes at just about every turn to dominate its home meet, taking first in the team standings with 399 points.

Greeley West was a distant second with 246 points, and Eaton was third with 199.

"Our team did so great today; I was so happy with the results," Driscoll said. "We've been working really hard, actually. And we have a really strong team. It's going to be a good season. Especially looking at today. We dominated."

That they did; even after swimming in the Coaches Invitational — arguably the most challenging meet of the high school season — on Saturday in Thornton.

Breaking with tradition, place-winners receive candy canes rather than ribbons at this annual pre-Christmas meet.

Wizard standouts Morgan Friesen and Erin Eccleston better have a hankering for peppermint with all the candy canes they racked up.

Eccleston, a sophomore, claimed top honors in the 500 freestyle (5:30.82) and 100 backstroke (1:03.65) with state-qualifying times. She also led off Windsor's two first-place relay teams — the 200 medley relay (1:55.56) and 400 freestyle relay (3:55.37) — both of which posted state-qualifying times.

Eccleston said she and her teammates were determined to head into winter break with a noteworthy performance.

"Just getting out here, having fun with each other and winning the meet was really great for everyone," Eccleston said. "Everyone did fantastic."

Friesen, Windsor's multi-time All-American junior, matched Eccleston's two first-place individual finishes and was the second leg of both of the Wizards' first-place relay teams. She picked up individual first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:13.71) and the 100 breaststroke (1:07.97).

Both of those individual performances set pool records. Friesen is a state record-holder, a two-time state champion and a two-time All-American in breaststroke.

Not a bad final race before winter break for Friesen, who at Saturday's Coaches Invitational at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center won the 200 IM (2:07.12) and the 100 breaststroke (1:03.13).

Now, after such a hectic flurry to end the first month of the high school season, Friesen and her teammates will look forward to doing one thing: taking it easy.

The Wizards aren't back in action until Jan. 8-9 when they'll compete in the Mustang Invitational at the VMAC.

Wizards sixth-year coach Mandy Schneider praised her swimmers for shaking off the fatigue, knowing they get only one opportunity all season to swim an invitational in their home pool.

"I felt like they left it all out there," Schneider said. "I feel like several of them — even though they didn't have their best times — you can tell that they were swimming their best race for today, which is good. And it will all work out in the end."

Wizards making waves

In addition to the performances of Eccleston, Friesen and the two aforementioned relay teams, Windsor had two other first-place finishes.

Sophomore Hunter Waterman won the 50 freestyle with a 4A state-qualifying time of 26.53. Freshman Ella Reintsma won the 100 freestyle with a time of 59.95.

Waterman also swam the third leg on the Wizards' 400 freestyle relay team. Lacey Whitehead swam the third leg on the 200 medley relay team.

Ry-leestyle

Eaton's Rylee Daniels was the only individual swimmer to break Windsor's monopoly on first-place finishes.

In addition to winning the 200 freestyle, she posted another first-place, state-qualifying time in the 100 butterfly (1:03.55).

Daniels was the consolation champion in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the 4A state meet last February.

Swimmin' Spartans

Like the Wizards, Greeley West had a slew of high placers — many providing the stiffest competition to Windsor heavy-hitters Friesen and Eccleston and Eaton standout, Daniels.

Their sole first-place performance came in the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet of Belle Whyrick, Josie Carpenter, Elise Johnson and DiAnna Rowe recorded a time of 1:48.92, just missing the 5A-qualifying time (1:48) and narrowly missing out on a pool record (1:45.99).

"We ran the same relay (team) here that we ran at the Coaches Invite — in the 200 free relay — and we dropped a second," West coach Colin Shaha said. "We had an easier practice before the Coaches Invite. Then, yesterday, we ran a two-a-day. I just think they race really well."